Why English should be the Official Language of U.S. (Argumentative Essay Sample)

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Introduction

Mythically, English is the official language of the United States. It has never been officially declared as the official language. Every year, proposals in congress to make it official fail due to little support. Making English the official language of this country will mean a lot to the economy. Every government business will have to be in English. All citizens, both indigenous and immigrants, will be under obligation to learn and use English in going about most of their errands. A debate on whether America should officially include English in their constitution as the main language has been ongoing for some time.

What Makes English the Preferred Language?

It is vivid that American society arose from a society that speaks English. American constitution is in English. More than 82% of Americans speak English. This explains the reason why America's official language should be English. Having one language as the official language lowers the government expenditure. This is to the effect that the government will only cater for one language use in processing its activities (Guffey, 2007). One official language will eradicate the confusion of having to translate laws into other languages. According to Winston Churchill, “the gift of common language is a priceless inheritance”. Many countries in Europe have spent a lot of money in the past to conduct their activities in more than one language. This means that translation into other languages normally takes place (Adams, 1990). This leads to having more expenses than if an official language is in use. Canada has both English and French as their official languages. This makes their annual budget go high.

A majority of American citizens are English speakers. This would give the more reason as to why it would be the preferable language to declare as official. Most business enterprises do their things entirely in English. All immigrants who come to the United States to work will be under a requirement to learn English before they start working. This will improve efficiency in company operations and cut down expenses for translation. Some hospitals currently have doctors practicing in other languages, which are not English. This circumstance makes them employ many translators in a bid to communicate their services (Eggington 1997).

Mythically, many immigrants are always under determination to continue speaking in their languages and ignore English. If these immigrants fail to get any other chance other than learning English, they will be able to learn to speak faster under the same obligation. 79% of Americans support the opinion that the official language of America should be English. 96% believe that it is necessary for immigrants to learn English. Failure to learn English may land immigrants in the frustration of not getting a job. In the year 2000, just before Clinton left office, the president signed a law (Finegan, 2011). The law required that all medical service givers and organizations that are beneficiaries of government funding should serve their clients in languages that they understand. It recommended that, in cases where the client did not speak English, translation was necessary. This law gave rise to a lot of antagonisms between the government and organizations.

In the educational sector, teaching requires a uniform approach. This makes a balance in learning. In a case where there are many languages in the education sector, setting syllabus and writing books will bring a lot of confusion (Del Valle, 2003). Exam setting would be hectic due to the absence of uniformity. Immigrants, who come for studies in America, should, therefore, be under obligation to learn English. In case students do not understand English, they go through a hectic time in their studies. Having English as the official language will give all American citizens an opportunity to participate freely in national opportunities. Being a country where English is the main language, America communicates and carries out many projects in English. Having all members to learn to speak English will enable to be a part of American projects. As a matter of fact, having English as the national language will foster unity in the country. People will tend to unite together as a result of using one common language (Bruno 1999). It will foster identity and acceptance among American citizens. Sidelining others by means of racial misunderstanding can only face eradication when one common language is under adoption.

English opens many doors to the citizens of America. It is the means of succeeding in the country. Many countries in the world use English as the main language of communication. Most world organizations use English as the communication language. These and many other factors give Americans opportunity to be able to venture into many fields and regions to grab opportunities (Rubdy, 2006).

The Other Side of the Coin

America is a country of extensively diverse culture. There are some indigenous Americans who do not speak English. The amount of these non-English speakers is growing rapidly. Enforcing English on these people will undermine their rights (Baron, 1990). This argument has a taste of racial endeavors. Law enforcement will sideline a few majorities who cannot speak English

Conclusion

America needs to adopt a common language to ease its operations in its governance. For a long time, English has been the main language in use in America. It is remarkably economical to use one common language to avoid repetition in translations that make this country spend too much. Use of English will foster unity and cohesion in America. This is so because everyone will be in a position to identify with one another.